Random Terrible And Creepy Things That Have Happened At The Cecil Hotel (12 items)

(#8) A Young Woman Fell From Her Hotel Window And Got Tangled In Telephone Wires

In 1937, 25-year-old Grace E. Magro died as a result of either falling or jumping from the window of her room in the Cecil. Instead of hitting the sidewalk below, the young woman landed on the the wires connecting the telephone poles next to the hotel, and her body became entangled. Magro was taken to a nearby hospital, but she eventually died from her injuries.

The police were unable to determine if the young woman's death was an accident or a suicide, and M.W. Madison, the sailor Magro was sharing the hotel room with, couldn't explain how or why his companion plunged from the window - he claimed to have slept through the incident.
(#9) A Woman Jumped To Her Death And Landed On The Hotel's Marquee

In 1954, Helen Gurnee, a middle-aged woman from San Diego, checked into the hotel under a fake name and jumped from the window of her room on the seventh floor.

Instead of plummeting to the street below, Gurnee's body landed on the marquee of the Cecil - a sight that disturbed many witnesses below.
(#4) A Woman Threw Her Newborn Out The Window Of Her Hotel Room

In September 1944, 19-year-old Dorothy Jean Purcell was awakened by severe stomach pains while staying at the Cecil Hotel with Ben Levine. Careful not to wake Levine, who was sleeping in the bed beside her, Purcell went to the bathroom and, to her surprise, gave birth to a baby boy. The teenage mother was completely shocked, having no idea that she had been pregnant.

After Purcell delivered the infant, completely alone and unaided, she thought the child was stillborn, and tossed the boy's body out of the window. The newborn landed on the roof of a neighboring building where it was later discovered. An autopsy revealed the baby had been born alive. Purcell was charged with homicide, but a jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity and she was sent to a hospital for psychiatric treatment.
(#12) A Man Opened Fire From The Hotel's Rooftop

Jeffrey Thomas Paley terrified guests at the Cecil and people passing by the hotel when he went up to the roof and fired several shots from a rifle in 1976. Thankfully, Paley failed to shoot anyone, and he was arrested by police shortly after the rampage began.

After he was taken into custody, Paley told the officers he hadn't actually intended to harm anyone. According to Paley, who had spent time in a mental hospital, he purchased the gun and fired the shots to demonstrate how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a dangerous weapon and take out a large number of people.
(#2) Elisa Lam's Dead Body Was Found In The Hotel’s Water Supply

In January 2013, Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old Canadian tourist who was staying at the Cecil Hotel, went missing. Nearly three weeks passed before the young woman’s nude body was found floating in a water tank on the building’s roof. Disturbingly, a maintenance worker discovered Lam’s corpse because he was investigating complaints from guests at the hotel who had reported poor water pressure; others stated the water had a strange smell, color, and taste.

Following the recovery of the young woman’s remains, the LAPD released video footage from the hotel that showed Lam behaving strangely prior to her disappearance, leading some people to suspect foul play, drugs, or even supernatural activity. However, a toxicology report determined that no illicit substances were in Lam's system. The 21-year-old died of drowning, and it is thought that Lam, who was being treated for depression and bipolar disorder prior to her passing, may have experienced mental health issues that caused her to crawl inside the tank and accidentally drown. However, no one knows how Lam gained access to the rooftop water tank, which is behind a locked door and a series of fire escapes. Only three days into her time at the Cecil, where she had been staying in a hostel-style room, Lam's roommates complained about her odd behavior and the hotel moved Lam to a private room.
(#11) A Photograph Appears To Show A Ghostly Figure Outside Of A Hotel Window

With so many people dying at the Cecil as a result of jumping or falling to their deaths, it should come as no surprise that a ghost or two might hang out around the hotel's windows.

In January 2014, Koston Alderete, a boy from Riverside, CA, captured what he believes to be an apparition haunting the outside of a fourth-floor window of the notorious hotel.